Magic mirror on display in Germany

The magicmirror by thebigspace, first introduced by Avery Dennison-owned Paxar earlier this year, is currently available for use by customers of the Galeria Kaufhof department store in Essen, Germany as part of a large-scale RFID field trial. Avery Dennison Retail Information Services group has also contributed its RFID printer Monarch 9855 RFMP ME to this project and is supplying all the hangtags and adhesive labels for the 30,000 items of clothing to be fitted with RFID labels in the menswear department on the third floor of the Galeria Kaufhof.

Avery Dennison acquired Paxar in June this year enhancing further its comprehensive range of products.

The magicmirror has been developed jointly by thebigspace (Milan/London), a company specializing in innovative experience design concepts, and the Avery Dennison owned Paxar Corporation, a leader in the field of RFID technology. A radio frequency identification system enables data and images to be transmitted to the surface of the mirror, providing the fashion consumer with additional product information. In Essen, this application is being used in conjunction with the Gardeur clothing brand. When a customer tries on a pair of trousers from this range or holds the item in front of the mirror, information about the characteristics of the garment and care instructions are projected onto the surface of the mirror. Members of staff are able to use their mobile hand-held scanners to check quickly and simply the availability of other sizes and colors, either on the shop floor or in the warehouse.

Avery Dennison has provided its Monarch 9855 RFMP ME printer to print the necessary RFID labels. This device operates in UHF Gen2 mode with 868 megahertz, printing and encoding both RFID hangtags and adhesive labels with integrated chips. The Monarch 9855 was the first system of its kind to read and encode RFID tags in line with the UHF protocol Gen2 according to European specifications. It also prints barcodes and other visual information. Gen2 offers faster readings, greater data density, improved anti-collision algorithms and better security.

Working in tandem with the solutions offered by other partners of Kaufhof Warenhaus AG and its parent company Metro AG, this project in Essen is the first to employ a large-scale test of consumers to trial RFID technology at a retail level. All items of clothing and accessories on the HAKA sales floor can be tracked from the distribution warehouse in Neuss-Norf to the incoming goods department in Essen and their position on the sales floor followed all the way through to the customer sale at the till. In line with customer requests the RFID label is easily removed once the item is purchased. This system is expected to generate retail benefits by providing better, faster customer service, greater transparency and better availability as well as simplifying stock and inventory control.